Marblehead Arts Association 2009 Annual Appeal
For 87 years, the MAA has served the artistic needs of the community through the commitment and generosity of our members and financial contributors, like you. Through your support, we provide local artists the opportunity to exhibit original works, while offering hands-on classes, diverse lectures and events — all for the enjoyment and enrichment of Marblehead and surrounding communities.
We proudly continue our stewardship of the King Hooper Mansion, one of the North Shore’s historic crown jewels, and home to important works of art by our founding members.
Please consider a tax deductible gift of $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000, or another amount to our 2009 Annual Appeal. To make a donation, click the donate button.
February Exhibits at the Marblehead Arts Association
ArcWorks, Fran Gardino, Robert Hanlon
Febuary 6–28 · Opening Reception: February 7, 2:00–4:00pm
February exhibits at the Marblehead Arts Association (MAA) include work by members Fran Gardino and Robert Hanlon. We are also pleased to announce an exhibit of work by the North East Arc’s ArcWorks. The exhibit will run from February 6–28 with an opening reception on Sunday, February 7th, 2:00–4:00pm.
Click on images to enlarge them.
ArcWorks: A Different Vision – Changing Lives and Perceptions
George Patton:
“Lighthouse”
The North East Arc, formerly the North Shore Arc, has been providing services to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families for the past 55 years. ArcWorks, a program of the North East Arc, is a guild for artists with physical and or intellectual challenges. Their mission is to provide opportunities for individuals with challenges to explore and discover their creative abilities, to express themselves through the arts and to provide the opportunity that enables their artistic voice to be heard by an ever-expanding community. It has been changing the lives and perceptions of its artists since April of 2004. It has also been changing the perceptions of those who attend exhibits as both the Gallery at Southside, and shows within the community.
Fran Gardino: Down by the Riverside
Fran Gardino: “Downed Tree”
Beautiful clean rivers are very important to Mr. Gardino on many levels since he grew up in Everett near the polluted Malden and Mystic Rivers. This show is a photo appreciation of several riverside locations, notably the Mystic and Charles Rivers, in a collection of large-scale river photos. The inspiration for these photos came from his childhood dreams of exploring up and down the riverbanks of clean sparkling rivers which then evolved into an adult appreciation of clean water and his dreams of personal journeys, spiritual transitions and the passage of time as written into the great American character of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn.
Gardino has stitched together multi-shot panoramic images which are river-like so the viewers’ eyes flow from one end of the photos to the other, observing and capturing the sometimes slow, sometimes raging, but seemingly endless passage of time. His bridge images capture many types of river crossings almost as a network of connections traversing our flowing rivers of life. Although most of the photos are panoramas of the Charles River, there are also river photos from other places around the world like Japan, New Orleans, eastern and western Massachusetts and Nova Scotia. It became apparent to him from shooting and observing these photos that his childhood and adult dreams are universal.
Fran Gardino: “CamBank2”
A portion of the proceeds with benefit the Charles River Conservancy. The Charles River Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit citizens’ advocacy group founded in 2000 dedicated to the renewal and stewardship of the Charles River Parklands from the Boston Harbor to the Watertown Dam. The Conservancy works to make these parklands more attractive, active and accessible to all. For more information visit: www.charlesriverconservancy.org
Robert Hanlon: Furniture, Figures, and Landscapes
Robert Hanlon:
“Sleeping Woman”
Mr. Hanlon has made his living for almost 30 years building furniture, often using antique painted boards, doors, and architectural fragments from 18th and 19th century houses. His process involved scraping and sanding through layers of paint (sometimes 15 coats), exposing random patterns of aged color. He makes his paintings the same way, by adding layers of pigmented shellac, lacquer, and acrylic. Using unique painted panels, he finds the work half-done: primed, framed, and full of suggestions. After painting over the old paint, he uses sandpaper, steel wool and a single-edged razor to bring up the old color and texture.
Robert Hanlon:
“Furniture”
Hanlon paints what he knows and loves, usually from memory: the Essex salt marsh, Penobscot Bay in Maine, schooners, trees, and the human figure. He usually borrows unashamedly from whatever images he finds lying about in newspapers and books. The work of Marc Chagall and the New York Times Ballet pages have inspired a continuing series of flying people. Hanlon has had no training in painting or furniture-making, and prefers to stumble along with what he finds on his own, using error and surprise instead of expertise for inspiration.
Image enlargement made possible by Lokesh Dhakar’s terrific Lightbox JavaScript.